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minutes since I’d stopped jogging, yet my pulse raced.
    “Why a cop?”
he asked out of nowhere, pulling away.
    Holy shit! What
was that all about?
    He rolled a
pink exercise ball toward him. Sitting on it with his legs spread
apart, hands resting on his thighs, he looked at me with that cocky
lopsided grin. Cross could have been sitting on a toilet seat and
he’d still look sexy. He bounced another one in front of him,
motioning me to sit. I welcomed the distraction from his flirting.
A few more rounds and we’d be down on the floor, rolling from wall
to wall.
    “My family
drove down to Florida when I was eight. About five cars in front of
us a van lost control, flipped over, and rolled to the side of the
road. It caught fire. I don’t know where she came from, but the
officer pulled over her cruiser and jumped out while everyone else
was in shock. She ran down the hill toward the flames. And one by
one, she saved the family. An older man was the last one to walk
out, and then the van exploded. The officer’s back caught the
flames from the blast and she lit up like a dried up Christmas
tree. My parents told me she survived. It was the bravest thing I’d
ever seen in my life.”
    While what I’d
told Cross wasn’t a lie and had happened when my father was still
alive, I wasn’t ready to share with him the true moment of when I’d
made a career choice.
    “I’d thought
it was because your father was a cop.”
    It didn’t
surprise me Cross knew my father’s profession. “I guess he had
something to do with it as well. He was a good man and an honorable
police officer.” My throat tightened. If it weren’t for Wright, my
father would still be alive. I would have a sister, and my mother
wouldn’t be broken in half.
    “Your record
on the force is the cleanest I’ve seen. You’re trying to keep
everyone’s attention away from something, Allie. Why?”
    Could he
really see through me? Was it possible that in some way, Tristan
Cross had dug deep enough to know what had happened?
    “I’m just
trying to build a good reputation, the kind my father would be
proud of.”
    He had to
believe that. No one could have found out about Wright. My mother
and I were the only ones who knew. My desire for revenge had to be
hidden, for a while at least, until Cross trusted me and could help
me.
    Cross narrowed
his brows as if he could sense my reluctance to share information,
but he didn’t press for more, and I was glad. I wasn’t sure I could
handle talking about that day or admitting my drive. But eventually
I’d have to tell him. I would need his help to dispose of Wright’s
body. Make it disappear.
    “So, how long
do I have until I can be your hooker?” I smirked. Seeing the lust
spark in his eyes swirled a new yearning in my belly. “I need to go
away for a couple of days before I can commit.”
    “Hhm, where
are you going?” he asked, trying to steady his ragged voice.
    “South
Carolina. I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”
    “To visit your
mother?”
    The hairs on
my neck stood tall. “How … ? No one knows where she lives except
for me.”
    “Allie, there
isn’t much I can’t find out if I want to.”
    Which only
meant Wright could find her too. The bastard would never give
up looking for my mother. He’d gotten too close to us before. Rage
boiled inside me. This was one trip I couldn’t postpone.
    “Why hide her,
Allie? Why does your mother move along the east coast every few
years?” He rolled on the exercise ball a bit closer to me.
    All I could do
was shake my head. A lump formed in my throat. I didn’t want to cry
in front of Cross. Part of me wanted to tell him everything, yet I
wasn’t ready to share my past.
    “Will this
affect your job?” he asked in a much quieter voice.
    “No.” But the
devil on my shoulder screamed Yes .
    “You’ll take
my jet.” He rose his finger before I could argue. “It will be
quicker.”
    “It’s not a
far drive.”
    “Doesn’t
matter. If you’re